1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to golf club heads having face insert plates, and more particularly, to golf club heads having a face insert plate that is mounted within a cavity formed within a face region of a club head body. The face insert cavity preferably has varying depth channels provided in a bottom surface thereof, and has an elastomeric damping material provided within the channels.
2. Description of Related Art
There have been numerous attempts to utilize face inserts or faceplates of differing materials on golf club heads. Indeed, such structures have previously been proposed for both wood and iron-style club heads and for putter heads. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,403,007 and 3,975,023 disclose the use of face inserts within golf club heads. Further, some golf club heads, primarily putter heads, utilize elastomeric materials for the face insert, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,472 (co-owned by the assignee of the present invention).
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, while the "feel" of a golf club may be to some extent non-quantifiable, feel is an important factor in club design. Those skilled in the art also will appreciate that the feel of a golf club, particularly that of a wedge or putter, may constitute the very thing that causes a player to choose one club over another. Thus, it is believed that those skilled in the art would find a golf club head having a face insert plate that provides an enhanced or improved feel to be quite useful.